Don't sweat ... there's always the small stuff!

Sometimes the smallest things stop you in your tracks and make you think. This week for me it was this bottle top that finally forced me to slow down, in fact I ground to a halt to pick it up. It was not only pretty but in the busyness of a hectic to-and-fro week it served as a loud and clear indicator to slow down and look for joy in the little things right there before my eyes.

I love the feeling you get when someone points out something simple that you've never noticed before and from that point on you can't help but ALWAYS notice it, I'll give you a few examples. My hubby loves to spot continuity errors in films, something that I would never have noticed nor really cared about. Not anymore, now I'm like some maniac hound, always on the look out trying to sniff one out and oh, the satisfaction! Another example, eyes. Once you notice that most people have one eye smaller than the other, there's no going back! Well that's how I felt once I saw this and this.

I was at once reminded of how I collected bottle tops as both a child and an adult and how I have always loved, loved, loved them. When I was out walking I would always be scanning the floor for them and would collect and deposit them in a jam jar once home, never quite sure what to do with them. I began remembering those early days back in Ghana where we would add glue to our fanta or coca cola tops and fill them with sand and then play a game where you and your players would each take turns to flick your bottle top and whoever reached the designated line in the sand first, won. Were it not for Kelly Rae's sense of fun I'm not sure I would have remembered either the fun of 'collecting' or the joy of slowing down. I am hopeful that now that I have once again 'noticed' this simple pleasure, I will never stop noticing those little glints of gold cast away waiting for me to give them a home and a new meaning!

With this new optimism spilling from me, I was able to bring our christmas tree out of the loft for the boys to decorate on the 1st December. This is especially poignant for us as last year somehow or another, we didn't get a tree or any decorations up until the 21st or 22nd of December - shameful I know!!!! Whilst I mourn not having a 'real' x'mas tree (oh for that large victorian house!!!) I will at least pat myself on the back for getting the timing right this year and those boys were so grateful, very grateful indeed.